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Spice & Wolf was a low magic setting, while in the LN and the manga MaouYuusha is a high magic setting, but the anime is attempting to portrait the world of MaouYuusha as a low magic setting, hence anything relating to it (the hero overwhelming power, high level magic spells, etc.) has been removed altogether.

My feelings are mixed for this show. There are some interesting elements here like the agricultural revolution, and Demon King's negotiations, but they're not connected well enough to the story for my liking. My first issue is the lack of proper names. A lack of names in a show like Humanity Has Declined is fine because it's a satire, and this lack serves a narrative purpose. The same lack in Maoyuu works against it because the characters and places are supposed to be concrete entities with unique characteristics. Without proper names, they lose impact and become genericized.

Next, it's good for Hero to lose his stupid headband, but why did Demon King have to lose her horns? They were her best feature, and she looks unbalanced without them.

I know that there have been a lot of comparisons between Maoyuu Maou Yuusha and Spice & Wolf, but I don't think that they are very justifiable at this point. Spice & Wolf is characterized by the interaction of the leads and how each brings their unique talents into play in their adventures. However, this show can be summed up as "Demon King does stuff while she explains it to Hero". The lack of balance is exemplified in Episode 4 as Hero finally does stuff, and he has to be nowhere near Demon King to do it.

I'm dropping this show as of now, but I may pick it up if later episodes get better.

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Originally Posted by XFire

Hero kept the Demon World under control. That fight with the Archduke Fire Dragon wasn't for the lulz, or an excuse to introduce his daughter. The Archduke had been planning to lead an assault on the only human city in the Demon World, and Hero stopped him.

The problem is that the anime hasn't been able to sell the problems of the Demon world. Without that, all of Hero's adventures boil down to "Hero does some unimportant stuff off-screen". It's a very odd production choice that hurts the show quite a bit.

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Spice & Wolf was a low magic setting, while in the LN and the manga MaouYuusha is a high magic setting, but the anime is attempting to portrait the world of MaouYuusha as a low magic setting, hence anything relating to it (the hero overwhelming power, high level magic spells, etc.) has been removed altogether.

You know, the same feeling also struck me the moment Maou didn’t use magic to light the barn and use a lantern instead (episode 2). It’s like this show is trying hard to suppress the fantastical elements in the story and trying to reduce Hero’s shining moments which boils down to this:

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Originally Posted by 4Tran

The problem is that the anime hasn't been able to sell the problems of the Demon world. Without that, all of Hero's adventures boil down to "Hero does some unimportant stuff off-screen". It's a very odd production choice that hurts the show quite a bit.

If it's the studio's artistic choice to make the anime this way, then I don’t think even bigger budget and more episodes will solve the problem.

You know, the same feeling also struck me the moment Maou didnít use magic to light the barn and use a lantern instead (episode 2).

Yeah, from what I can deduct this anime should be about making fun of many classical RPG tropes, but as it is now it is just "The Adventures of Maou and ???". I would even dare to say the from here on if Hero is not with Maou or any of her female henchwomen, he will be reduced to a non animated slideshow. IMO reducing him to a pixelated chibi avatar in his fights would pack at least some comedy.

I sense that the anime may be avoiding the over-reliance on magic. If someone can use magic to power up a light source, then the next logical question would be : can magic not be used to do other things? In a world in which magic is common-place, is it not logical to use it to improve our lives?

Why, then, would the anime need to show Maou's various innovations? Why not have the council of mages (or whoever is in charge of magic) provide magical high-yield, pest-resistant crop that can grow in rocky, dry soil? Why use a compass, if magic can provide unerring GPS-like navigation accuracy?

If magic can be used to provide safe, reliable heat or kinetic energy, then basically magic has become the power source that would usher in the industrial revolution.

I sense that the anime may be avoiding the over-reliance on magic. If someone can use magic to power up ...

It basically goes down like this:

1) Magic is not an energy source, it is a means to an end, the energy comes from world itself *flashbacks of Goku doing a genkidama* The results of over reliance on magic can be seen in the latest manga chapters of Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic or in Dark Sun setting for good old pen & paper D&D.

2) Magic is powerful and world changing, but only a few people can wield and magic users usually aren't into feeding the populace by themselves; if everyone could wield magic and with a mere thought blast his enemy into pieces, well, you will get the results seen in the anime

I sense that the anime may be avoiding the over-reliance on magic. If someone can use magic to power up a light source, then the next logical question would be : can magic not be used to do other things? In a world in which magic is common-place, is it not logical to use it to improve our lives?

They've used it to move around. They say Hero's useless, but without him, it'd have been a long slow trip to Lakeshore Order.

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Why, then, would the anime need to show Maou's various innovations? Why not have the council of mages (or whoever is in charge of magic) provide magical high-yield, pest-resistant crop that can grow in rocky, dry soil? Why use a compass, if magic can provide unerring GPS-like navigation accuracy?

If magic can be used to provide safe, reliable heat or kinetic energy, then basically magic has become the power source that would usher in the industrial revolution.

Maybe because magic users are exceedingly rare?

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Originally Posted by Obelisk ze Tormentor

To conclude what Ogon Bat said: the magic in Maoyuu universe is not the same as the one in Fairy Tail where magic is a power source and can be used practically by the majority of humans.

Frankly speaking while i kinda like this show, i have no idea what it is about. Is it about war, racial harmony or agricultural reforms? I also don't quite get maou rational of strengthening the enemy to achieve peace.

Frankly speaking while i kinda like this show, i have no idea what it is about. Is it about war, racial harmony or agricultural reforms? I also don't quite get maou rational of strengthening the enemy to achieve peace.

"The enemy"?

You seem to be confused. This is not a war of good and evil. That was the whole point; killing the other side achieve nothing. I would explain more, but I would wait for you to re-watch the episodes with the idea that humans are NOT the "good guys" and the demons are not the "bad guys".

When did i ever say humans are good or evil. They could all be the same race for that matter but the fact is they are 2 sides that are at war. Helping the other improve their food production and navigation ability would not make them think "hey, we got enough food. Lets stop fighting." Just look at our history. Once a country is strong, they will think of invading and exploit other weaker countries.

In times of peace with an allied country maybe it would make sense. Maybe she hopes that the south country will get strong enough to invade the central countries.

When did i ever say humans are good or evil. They could all be the same race for that matter but the fact is they are 2 sides that are at war. Helping the other improve their food production and navigation ability would not make them think "hey, we got enough food. Lets stop fighting." Just look at our history. Once a country is strong, they will think of invading and exploit other weaker countries.

In times of peace with an allied country maybe it would make sense. Maybe she hopes that the south country will get strong enough to invade the central countries.

You still don't understand. You think this war ends with one side being defeated. That's not happening. And even then, logic dictates that as soon as a united empire is formed, it would split in two and the war continues.

You need to see that in this world, there is no incentive for peace. Both sides have forgotten how to NOT have wars. There is no plan, no project, for how to run a country that isn't fighting somebody. There is no industry that can survive in peacetime.

People are fighting not because they want to win, but because that's the only thing they know. Because there is no other way to keep the economy moving, and to ensure everyone is employed.

Is there going to be some fighting later? Yes. Eventually there will be actual battles as those who want war will use force to maintain the current world. But the Demon King and Hero is making sure when the time comes, they got both allies and resources to win the fight.

You still don't understand. You think this war ends with one side being defeated. That's not happening. And even then, logic dictates that as soon as a united empire is formed, it would split in two and the war continues.

Isn't that what he is saying though?

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Originally Posted by FateAnomaly

When did i ever say humans are good or evil. They could all be the same race for that matter but the fact is they are 2 sides that are at war. Helping the other improve their food production and navigation ability would not make them think "hey, we got enough food. Lets stop fighting." Just look at our history. Once a country is strong, they will think of invading and exploit other weaker countries.

In times of peace with an allied country maybe it would make sense. Maybe she hopes that the south country will get strong enough to invade the central countries.

the key is that the southern country are essentially the "mercenaries" for the central nations if they want to start a war with demons. The wager being that they could provide food to Southern Countries and use them to control those countries.

By providing the means for the Southern countries to self-sustain, there's no need for them to listen to the words from the Central, which means that the human will have less size for an invading army.

Conversely, by making them self-sustained, they are able to support their own armed forces to protect themselves if Demon decides to start another battle, and doesn't have to rely the support from the Central to arrive.

You have to realise that human are not one uniformed nation. They each have their own agenda, and while the war is keeping a nice balance at the moment, sooner or later it will crumble down hard if nothing is being done about the root of the problem. While it's a legitimate reason to worry about the possible ambition of the Southern Countries, by helping them to grow and defend themselves, both maou and yuusha could potentially have a say in their politics. Not to mention Yuusha is powerful enough to force things to happen if people are being idiots. Ideally, it's a win-win strategy.

When did i ever say humans are good or evil. They could all be the same race for that matter but the fact is they are 2 sides that are at war. Helping the other improve their food production and navigation ability would not make them think "hey, we got enough food. Lets stop fighting." Just look at our history. Once a country is strong, they will think of invading and exploit other weaker countries.

In times of peace with an allied country maybe it would make sense. Maybe she hopes that the south country will get strong enough to invade the central countries.

Central is likely to invade first, since they are already exploiting Southern nations to be their buffer against demons.

Alliance is another problem. Unless they can profit from other ventures over war, they may become powerful enemies since war is driving the current economy.

So just what was the Hero's job? Since you feel so strongly that the anime version of the Hero is doing more than just being out of the Maoh's way, could you explain, in terms of what is shown in the anime, pretending you are like me, a newcomer to this series who is observing from a anime only view, just what does the Hero do that is pivotal to the plot, at this time of the current episode?

He was just a bodyguard before but now he's saving face for Maou's lack of action in the Demon World, calming the clans that are getting restless. This is stated in the anime and he's been successful so far. It would be bad if some Demon clans started their own "crusades", or even a coup d'etat.

Anime is not failing to portray Hero's character. The rest of the feelings about Hero in your post are exactly what you are expected to have in your head. This is evidence that the anime is doing fine on this issue.

Quote:

Originally Posted by grevierr

In anycase the feeling I get is that like most adaptations out there, quite a few of the character building plot points get left out as unimportant by the producers who have to meet a 20 min anime timing, and this serves to detracts from the enjoyment of those who were looking forward to those points which would build the emotional suspense.

Anime is doing a few sacrifices, the biggest one to me is that it's failing to portray a balanced view of the world. It's been %97 human side so far. Even if they skipped the HOTBLOODED SCREAMING POWER BATTLES (fan service for 8th graders), they could have show Hero's talk with the Dragon Clan leader. The anime didn't introduce us to how the demons are, which is a shame considering we are 1/3 into it.

He was just a bodyguard before but now he's saving face for Maou's lack of action in the Demon World, calming the clans that are getting restless. This is stated in the anime and he's been successful so far. It would be bad if some Demon clans started their own "crusades", or even a coup d'etat.

Anime is not failing to portray Hero's character. The rest of the feelings about Hero in your post are exactly what you are expected to have in your head. This is evidence that the anime is doing fine on this issue.

Anime is doing a few sacrifices, the biggest one to me is that it's failing to portray a balanced view of the world. It's been %97 human side so far. Even if they skipped the HOTBLOODED SCREAMING POWER BATTLES (fan service for 8th graders), they could have show Hero's talk with the Dragon Clan leader. The anime didn't introduce us to how the demons are, which is a shame considering we are 1/3 into it.

We will very likely have a flash back to that once the anime starts following Hero,s side of the story as it does set up a key plot point that is unavoidable unless major changes are made to the story. I do wish I knew if the order of events was the same in the manga as the novel. For all we know the anime may be sticking even closer to the novel then the manga did.

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1- It's anime with demon king and hero = so it's normal that action fan will watch it...

2- If you see hero side than you will understand that not just he is strong but he is better as Maou then demon queen since in demon world > power = justice, they even call her coward demon queen that not even by her own ally respect her.

But they start to thing that she might change after seeing hero take action to stop rebellion with pure force plus his promise to restore dragon city using demon queen name before the dragon clan attack human by themselves ( and end up dying for nothing since it's strongest human city in demon world >>> that why dragon chief decided to offer his own daughter as wife if he succeed)